Family Matters
by alicenotinwonderland
Summary: In every large family, there are bound to be troubles and fights, tears and surprises, happiness and silly moments. Despite everything, the Weasleys are a close-knit bunch. This is a collection of drabbles showcasing how much family matters to the Weasleys.
1. Molly

**So this is going to be a collection of drabbles, 500 words or less. This chapter is Molly with all her children.**

**Please review :) I hope you'll like these!**

* * *

**Crash**

_Dear Mum,_

_How have you been? I'm sorry I haven't written at all after that Floo call (and that was three weeks ago!) but my first month here has just been so busy._

_Being a curse-breaker is every bit as exciting as I thought! The first two weeks were mostly training and I learnt some new spells, specific to the job. They sent us out into the desert to teach us survival skills for three days. I had to live on rations of spinach and palm water. We got lucky though. Another team didn't handle their rations properly and nearly had to eat bugs. It's insanely hot in Egypt. I'm so tanned, even you wouldn't recognise me. I didn't know it was better to wear full-sleeved shirts and ended up peeling half my skin off thanks to sunburn in the first week. _

_The desert's dangerous with its snakes and scorpions and stuff but the tombs are downright scary. I went into three pyramids this week (this letter's probably reaching you a couple of weeks after today though) and ran into an actual, walking mummy! I've made a new friend, Jason West. He's from Australia. He managed to Stun the mummy and we ran out of there as fast as we could. Mummies should be the worst of our worries, apparently. Those old Egyptian wizards rigged the pyramids up with all kinds of booby traps. There are old skeletons in some of the safe tombs that are _definitely _not human. But like Jason says, more the danger, more the gold. He's a great guy._

_We just finished our first successful treasure hunt today. We got a good amount of gold from a minor prince's tomb and we only suffered a couple of cuts and bruises and a minor bite from a poisonous asp. We're okay though. Our trainer's really pleased; we're the first new team to find any treasure. I've enclosed a picture for you._

CRASH!

Molly's chair fell back loudly as she stood up suddenly, her eyes wide. She stared at the picture Bill had sent, clutching her heart. She gasped, not at the large pile of gold Bill was pointing and grinning at, but at the ripped jeans, muddy shirt and long ponytail that he – her perfect, Prefect, Head Boy, responsible little Bill – was sporting. And – she peered closely at the photo – was that a _fang_ dangling from his ear?

Bill had always given her the least trouble of all her children. It looked like he was trying to make up for eighteen years' lack of it.

* * *

**Soft**

Charlie had always been the roughest and toughest of all her kids. Molly thought he did it on purpose. He agreed to the scariest dares, he picked fights with the meanest kids and took to caring for dragons just to cover up his softer side. He didn't like people knowing that he loved to draw or that could bake wonderful chocolate biscuits.

But years of frequent family visits and the charms of his young nieces and nephews had chipped away at his hard outer layers. He knew longer threw fellow shoppers dirty looks when he was out buying toys for the kids and he never missed a single birthday.

But then, there were days like today when Charlie rebuilt every single hard, impenetrable wall he could to protect his softer side in an instant. He had spent the whole war heroes' remembrance ceremony with his fists tightly clenched and his mouth set in a straight line. He didn't smile, he didn't cry, he didn't exchange a single pleasantry or condolence; he just stood there, stony faced.

It was on days like these that Molly would find him on the sofa at two in the morning. She'd make him a cup of tea and he'd snuggle into her, letting her stroke his hair. He didn't care that he was thirty-six. He knew he'd never be too old or embarrassed to cry and be soft in front of his mum.

* * *

**Last dance**

"May I have this last dance?"

Molly smiled and took Percy's outstretched hand, allowing him to lead her out onto the dance floor. They moved slowly back and forth for a while before Molly broke the comfortable silence. "I think this will really be my last dance for the evening," she said ruefully, shifting slightly on her feet.

Percy looked at her concerned. "Are you alright, Mum? You do look very tired. Is your back hurting again? Do you need to go back to the house?"

"No, no my back's fine. I _am_ a little tired though and my feet are killing me but…" She glanced fondly over to where Ron and Hermione were standing, seeing off leaving guests. "I couldn't bring myself to leave early and worry the happy couple. This wedding was just a bit strenuous."

"You should have let us help with Ron's birthday last week. You're not young enough to handle two big events so close together anymore," Percy told her sternly.

Molly patted his cheek affectionately. "You always were the first to offer help dear. You never liked taking help though," she reminisced. "I remember – you were around six - waltzing around the living room with you standing on my feet trying to learn how to dance so you could impress that little brunette down at the village. Emily, I think her name was. I can still remember that disgruntled, determined look on your face at having to take help from someone else." She looked sadly at Percy and he could see the years show in her face, far more pronounced since the war. "Look at you now. Taller than me and leading me around the dance floor and completely independent."

Percy cleared his throat and blushed slightly as he spoke. "I'm actually going to need your help a lot very soon, Mum. And for a long time too."

Molly stared at him curiously. "Whatever with?"

He cleared his throat again. "Audrey's pregnant," he said. "We're having a little girl this October."

Molly could feel her face stretching in a foolish grin to match the one that had appeared on Percy's face. As she hugged him and squealed her congratulations, the image of Percy dancing around a room with a little girl on his toes popped into her mind.

It was enough to make her feel lively enough for a hundred more dances that evening.

* * *

**Fight**

Molly raced down the corridor and into the Entrance Hall. Harry was still alive, the battle had broken out again but she could sense that the odds were in their favour now. She glanced around, taking note of her family. She spotted Bill and Arthur bringing down someone. Charlie was running just ahead of her. Percy had the upper hand in the duel he was engaged in. Fred – she forced the image of his lifeless face, smiling even in death out of her mind – George was there behind her, supporting an injured student. Ron was running ahead, calling for Harry and Hermione. Ginny – Molly paused, looking around frantically for her daughter. She turned, distracted momentarily by Bellatrix Lestrange's maniacal cackle and froze.

Rage of a kind she had never felt before rose in her, threatening to consume her. Her blood burned as she rushed to Ginny. She'd let Fred slip through her fingers, she hadn't been able to fight for him, but she'd be damned if she didn't fight for the rest of her children.

"NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BITCH!"

* * *

**Born**

Molly jumped up when George emerged through the double doors at the end of the corridor. He was carefully holding a bundle of blankets, unable to take his eyes off it. She hurried up to him, smiling at the awestruck look on his face.

"It's a boy," he told her, looking surprised, as though he couldn't believe that he was holding a baby.

Molly peered over at the scrunched up face peeking out from the blankets at her and smiled and cooed at it. "He's a lovely boy," she said, looking at George's awed expression. "He looks like Angelina but he's got your eyes. I can almost see the mischief in them already."

"He is amazing," George agreed. "Angie's fine, she's resting. She's enamoured with him too." He looked at her earnestly. "Can you believe _we_ had a baby?"

She patted his back fondly. "You're going to be good parents."

"I hope he'll be more like Angelina though," George said, handing her the baby. "We're going to call him Fred," he added, his voice slightly choked as he reached out to stroke his new son's face with a single finger.

Baby Fred frowned and pushed a tiny hand out of his blankets, swatting at George's finger. Molly burst into laughter as she rocked the baby. "Oh I think he's going to be just like you. Trouble from the moment he's born."

* * *

**Breakable**

Ron had always been a curious child, drawn to the smooth, shiny prettiness of her china. Unfortunately for Molly, he was also a clumsy one. She couldn't count the number of vases and plates she'd had to sweep away or repair while Ron watched her with those big apologetic eyes. In his early years, when he was too young to be punished and she was afraid he'd hurt himself on the shards of whatever he'd managed break, she'd put Unbreakable Charms on all her fragile items. He could throw them from the roof and they wouldn't break.

Molly watched Ron push his barely touched food around on his plate. Everything he'd seen in the war, losing Fred…it felt like Ron was no longer whole. She'd heard him screaming in the night, seen the purple bags under his eyes in the morning, and observed how he jumped at the slightest loud sound and the way his hand moved to his pocket when the doors creaked.

She wished she could have put an Unbreakable Charm on him too.

* * *

**I know**

"Have you got all your things? Clothes? Spare quills? All your books?" Molly asked anxiously.

"Yes, everything's in my trunk, Mum," Ginny replied, looking distractedly at the scarlet steam engine and the students rushing all around her.

Molly watched the way Ginny was bouncing on the balls of her feet. She was fidgeting with the hem of her shirt and her eyes darted from person to person, almost as if she was afraid of looking at someone for too long. Percy walked by with Penelope Clearwater and Ginny let out a small cry, inaudible to everyone but Molly. She hated seeing Ginny like this, all twitchy and nervous. She had always been excited about going to Hogwarts. She should have been ecstatic about returning for her second year.

"It's going to be okay, Ginny," she said softly, stroking the top of Ginny's head. "You'll have a great year."

And suddenly Ginny had buried her face in her mother's dress, her arms clinging tightly to Molly. "I'm scared Mum," she whispered. "What if I hurt someone again?"

"I know. I know it's scary, darling. But you're not the one who hurt all those people. Tom Riddle did. You'll be okay, trust me. Ron and Harry will keep you safe too," Molly assured her.

Ginny gave her a small, watery smile and hopped aboard the train. Molly stood up and waved at her, wondering where Arthur and Harry were briefly. She looked at Ginny again and found her talking to a couple of friends, giving them tentative smiles as they chattered happily away to her.

She would be okay.

* * *

**Please do review! I'd love to know what you thought of these!**

**So this collection is going to be for the Connect the Weasleys challenge by Morning Lilies on HPFC. It really is a fun challenge to write for so just head on over to the forum if you're interested. **

**The next set will be Arthur's prompts. Also, if you're interested, do check out chapter 15 (Being Strong) of my story Forever. It's a oneshot I'd written earlier but it fits Molly and Ginny's prompt "I know" so much better than this little drabble.**


	2. Arthur

**A big thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter!**

**These are all about Arthur and his children**

* * *

**Hold on**

"Dad?"

Arthur jumped up from his chair and leaned over his son. "Bill, you're awake! How are you feeling?"

Bill winced as Arthur helped him sit up. "I'm a bit groggy and sore and my face feels…" He touched his face and his eyes widened in alarm as he felt the ointment. "What happened? There was Greyback and –"

Arthur held up a mirror wordlessly, causing Bill to stop short. For a moment, both of them were silent.

"I'm not going to be a werewolf though, am I?" Bill asked slowly, his fingers tracing one of his wounds.

"No. Remus is quite sure you won't be a full werewolf. He says you might have some of their characteristics though."

Bill closed his eyes and sighed. "Where's Mum? Does Fleur know?"

Arthur put the mirror down, his fingers lingering on the intricate border for a second. "Your Mum's in the Great Hall having breakfast with Fleur. Madam Pomfrey insisted they both go get something to eat. They haven't left your side all night. They took turns keeping an eye on you in case you needed something."

Bill raised an eyebrow and grimaced at the sharp, shooting pain the movement caused. "Fleur's here? And…she and Mum are getting along?"

Arthur looked at Bill. "Fleur had an outburst of sorts last night. Your mother thought – and I'll admit, so did I – that she wouldn't want to marry you anymore and your mother said something along those lines to her. But Fleur just drew herself up and told Molly quite firmly that she doesn't care how you looked; she loves you for who you are and that we must be crazy to think that she would want to leave you just over a few scars."

He smiled at the slow, happy, relieved grin that was breaking out on Bill's face. "Hold on to her, Bill. You'll never find another woman as remarkable as her," he advised.

"Trust me," Bill assured him. "I've no intention of ever letting her go.

* * *

**Tea**

"Charlie what on earth – the kitchen's a mess!" Arthur pulled his wand out and started clearing up the sugar and water Charlie had managed to get all over the counter. "What are you trying to do?"

Charlie looked at him sheepishly. "I thought I'd get some hot tea ready before Mum comes back from the village." He looked around at the tea leaves scattered all around the floor. "Guess I need some practice."

"How you managed to make this much of a mess, I'll never know." He busied himself with the kettle, smiling slightly. "Finally about to tell her where you really went for your internship this summer, are you?"

Charlie rubbed his nose awkwardly. "I thought it would be good timing, seeing as I'm leaving for Hogwarts tomorrow," he admitted. "She can't spend too much time giving me 'One hundred reasons why I shouldn't work with dragons' like she did with Bill when he announced he was going to be a curse-breaker."

"She's not going to be happy, if that's what you're expecting," Arthur said, crushing some of the tea leaves. He sniffed at the powder. "Not even if you manage to soften her up with her favourite, expensive brand of tea."

"I bought it with my internship money so she can see how much I'll make as a dragon breeder," Charlie said with a grin. "It'll be easier to tell her."

"Tell me what?"

Charlie spun around, looking terrified at the sight of his mother in the doorway. He gulped nervously. "Hi Mum."

"Charlie Weasley, what have you been up to?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Arthur grinned at his son's discomfort. "Here, Molly, sit down. How about a nice cup of tea? Charlie got your favourite."

* * *

**Naked truth**

Arthur sighed exhaustedly as he collapsed onto his bed. It was done, they were in the Order. Their lives were irrevocable changed now. But that didn't bother him quite as much as Percy's words earlier that evening had.

Percy might be making a big mistake in taking his new Ministry job. He was being young, naïve and stupid. But if Arthur was honest with himself, he couldn't escape the truth in the things Percy had shouted at him.

"_You've never had any ambition! We'd be richer than this if you'd tried."_

He had been far too content with his job at the Muggle artefacts office, it was true. If he'd spent less time tinkering with his Muggle contraptions and maybe tried to get a better job, Percy wouldn't have felt the need to have one.

"_All I want is to make some extra money. Is that so wrong? Tell me, Dad, is it really wrong for me to want to live with enough money to have new things that I don't have to share?"_

That was what he, Arthur, should have provided: the financial support to live comfortably. He had failed to do that.

"_What's the point of all my good grades if I can't use them? I'm the only one in this family who even tries to do something to help us live better."_

He had a point there. Percy was a smart boy. He wouldn't willingly sell out his family. Maybe, Arthur thought, he shouldn't have yelled. He could have explained things to Percy slowly. He could have shown him proof of You-Know-Who being alive. Percy'd had a bad first year of work and all he had wanted was something good to come out of it and all Arthur had done was oppose him. Percy was only misguided. Wasn't it a father's responsibility to set his son on the right path?

And yet, the cold, hard truth was that it was Arthur's fault that Percy had ever felt the need to go down the wrong path at all.

* * *

**Murmur**

"Fred!"

"Dad!"

"You're not supposed to be in here!" they hissed at each other simultaneously.

"What do you mean? This is my shed," Arthur whispered. Neither of them dared to raise their voices above a low murmur.

Fred raised an eyebrow. "You're out her at three in the morning."

"Well it's still my shed. I can come and go as I please," Arthur said but he glanced furtively at a cabinet to his left.

Fred caught the look. "What have you got in there that you don't want Mum to see?" he asked, smirking.

"What have _you_ got in your pocket that you don't want her to see?"

"How –"

"I knew Gideon and Fabian, remember? They used to stash things Molly would disapprove of in here all the time. I believe I've got a couple of their rainbow hair dye bottles around somewhere," he added, looking around.

Fred sighed and pulled a bag of brightly coloured candy out of his pocket. "We figured this would be the best place to hide our stuff. Mum never comes in here."

"What you did to Harry's cousin yesterday could have been dangerous," Arthur told him sternly.

"We knew you could sort it out. We're not stupid, Dad. We test our products," Fred shrugged. "Now can we hide this in here or not? We don't want all our hard work to go to waste."

Arthur held his gaze for a moment before sighing resignedly. "No, you're not stupid. You just choose to use your brains differently. I have to admit, that was a good piece of magic." He held his hand out for the bag. "I'll hide it under one condition. You two need to make a proper effort at your schoolwork this year. Oh and er, don't mention I was here at this hour to your mother."

Fred nodded. "Deal." He watched his father hide the bag in the back of a drawer. "So," he said with a grin when Arthur straightened up. "What _are_ you hiding in that cabinet?"

* * *

**Winter**

"It seems colder than usual, this winter, doesn't it?" Arthur strode up to George. They both stood, side by side, in the snow, staring down at the snow-covered headstone.

"It was buried under all the snow. I had to scrape it all off before I could see the writing," George said. "Almost like the world wants us to forget him." He turned accusing eyes onto his father. "Everyone else seems to be having fun tonight, unwrapping presents. I haven't seen a single tear on anyone's face."

"Tears aren't the only way people express grief," Arthur told him. "Your Mum left his jumper unfinished because she couldn't bring herself to knit an 'F' onto it. Bill didn't hang up any of the yellow streamers because it was Fred's favourite colour. Charlie and Percy didn't give us the usual family Christmas card that they take the responsibility for because they couldn't bear to see one name missing. Ron turned off the radio just now because 'A Cauldron Full of Hot Strong Love' came on and he remembered all the fun you've had under cover of that song. Ginny refused to put marshmallows into her hot chocolate because that was hers and Fred's tradition.

"As for me," Arthur pulled out a package from under his coat and placed it on the grave, "I haven't forgotten to get him a present too." He turned to face George whose face was stained with fresh tears. "Maybe, the world doesn't want you to forget him. Maybe it's just covering him up for a little while, just for tonight, so that you can spend some time with the rest of your family. Maybe it's just trying to remind you that you still have so many other people to care about."

"It's going to be okay, isn't it Dad?" George choked out.

Arthur put his arm around George, leading him back to the brightly lit house. "It is."

* * *

**Dust**

"Dad, what's this?" Ron looked warily at the contraption sitting in the hall of the Burrow.

"It's a vacuum cleaner," Arthur said excitedly. "Harry said it would be useful."

"Maybe you should wait for Hermione to come back and teach you how to use it properly," Ron suggested.

"Oh there's no need. Harry used these all the time in his aunt and uncle's house. He showed me how it works. Besides, Hermione's graduation isn't until next week; I can't just let this sit here!" Arthur said. He walked around the machine and grasped what looked like a pair of handles at the top. "There's a switch somewhere here," he muttered, bending down and fumbling around below the container that stretched between the handle and the base.

Ron walked over to the machine curiously. "What's it supposed to do?" he asked.

"Harry showed me. If you turn it on and move it around, it sucks up all the dirt. I thought I could use this to help your mother around the house," Arthur replied.

Ron snorted. "I think Mum's going to stick to magic." He bent down too, feeling around the base for a button. He stopped probing suddenly. "Hey I think I found the start button!"

"No, don't press – mmph!" Arthur straightened up abruptly, spitting out the dust that had shot into his mouth from the back of the container. "Ron! That button is supposed to empty it! _This _is the right button." He pressed a button at the back, turning on the vacuum cleaner. He moved it around happily, sucking up all the dust. "Muggles are ingenious!" he said happily.

Ron shook his head. "But you're crazy."

* * *

**Fingertips**

Arthur stared at the tiny baby girl in wonder. He had thought that the awe of seeing the miracle of life would have worn off after six boys but there was something particularly beautiful about the birth of a girl. There was something absolutely fascinating about her that drew him to her. She wasn't very big but there was something powerful about her. The softest yawn, her tiny nose, and the way her eyes scrunched up; she was just adorable.

He reached out to her, just as she opened her eyes. Her hands were so small. When his fingertips touched hers carefully, she looked up at him with her big brown eyes and moved her hand to grasp his finger firmly.

Arthur Weasley knew in that instant, that even though it was her hand wrapped around his finger just then, she had _him_ wrapped around her finger already.

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**Please do leave me a review! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this :)**


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